>> tomorrow "30 rock" jack. have a great day, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i'm jim cramer and welcome to my world. you need to get in the game. firms are going to go out of business, and he is nuts! they're nuts! they know nothing. i always like to say there is a bull market somewhere. "mad money," you can't afford to miss it. hey, i'm cramer. welcome to "mad money." welcome to cramerica. other people want to make friends. i'm just trying to save you a little money. my job is not just to entertain, but i'm trying to teach here so, call me at 1-800-743-cnbc. paging mrs. havisham, remember her? the key figure in "great expectations"? the book we all had to read in the country, no matter what? the one who set the expectations in that woeful tale? i can say charles dickens has nothing on this market, including today's roller coaster

action. markets closed up, the dow rising 2 points, the s&p gaining 0.38%. stocks are going up or down not because of revenue growth or lack thereof. that's the simplistic way the newspapers are explaining it. they're going up or down because of expectations with a capital e. often the expectations are just too great going into the quarter, or the expectations are negative enough that poor expectations should be the title of some of these conference calls. take caterpillar. it reported a hideous quarter because it was the worst of times in china, the worst of times in china. not the worst, but certainly in america. on top of, that cat's management lost its optimism and started it, well, an attitude of resignation. next year will be better. that's the attitude that often

precedes disappointing seasons in every sport, as well as disappointing numbers in the sport we play in. this was not kathmandu. it was cat-no-do. so what happens? the stock looks horrible in the premarket that time this when lobotomized players play out. if you only look at where the stack went out today, you would never have guessed caterpillar reported a truly horrific quarter. >> the house of pain! >> that's the power of a company lowering expectations to realistic levels that we all figure could be beaten after its stock had been laid to waste. see, caterpillar has quarter after quarter chosen to give us a rose-colored glasses scenario. but the market wasn't buying it. which is why the stock is off badly in what could be a very big year for equities. part of that weakness is the

endless rah-rah that cat's management insisted on giving us until today. >> agh! >> when they finally got realistic, pessimistic, and the market lapped it up. cat lowered the boom on itself. it also noticed that inventories were low. low inventories means very few discounts, and that means firmer pricing in the future. at least cat shareholders aren't expecting a bad 2013. this makes this is highest manufacturer in the world. at last a low-risk play if the global economy actually gets better. if it doesn't? hey, it could be fine anyway, which is why my charitable trust, is in the stock after a long period of abstention because of the mrs. havisham problem. you know who else was able to move up on horrid numbers? some of the semiconductor equipment companies. that is who. we have been fans of this show for a long time for novellus. remember, that was bought by lam research?

that poor little lamb that lost it's way. had to. it allowed semiconductors to produce ever smaller yet more powerful chips for smart phones. this combination known as lamb has been among the worst performers in the s&p 500 [ booing ] >> the house of pain! >> but both for the quarter and for the year as semiconductors have cut back radically on their spending. who can blame them? lots of chips going into personal computers and those customers are in horrendous shape to buy anything. they're probably doubling up on toilet paper at these companies. desperate times demand desperate measures lam was down 10% before it reported. the company simply reiterated it could do no better than it was doing, but didn't slash estimates, the stock reported higher on a really bad day, about a 10% gain. i call that rotten expectations. again, it had nothing to do with revenues.

it had everything to do with how the stock was going to be doing going into the quarter. expectations are what matters. let's talk about the crushing weight of great expectations. let's talk what happens when your company is known as a serial beat and racer, one that blows away the estimates. the company that leaves you screaming encore! makes you want to throw flowers at the conference call stage, and then suddenly it just lays an astonishing egg. [ buzzer ] that's what happened with google. a relatively -- google had let people know it wasn't facebook, that mobile was made for google. like weekends were made for michelob. now i know that many companies would kill for that kind of growth -- [ gunshots ] -- that google has. we were listening to slay their weekend. i'm not kidding. either it meant releasing the earnings too early in the day. that's what the knuckleheads did as an agent for google.

but google missed on so many levels, especially in mobile, that it was just a gigantic disappointment, i mean just an extraordinary one. [ crying ] and it's one who has kept discounting, including today. the stock down another 3 bucks. i know numbers spoke for themselves, but this was a total tale of two cities. there was the city that google's management lives in. let's call that backpack city, which they kept doing throughout the conference. at the end of the conference call, their arm was supposed to hurt so much. they had to go to the chiropractor i'm sure. and then there is the city that the rest of us inhabit which is the are you kidding me? that was the are you kidding me city. what happened to too much ad inventory? higher costs, including extraneous ones where we have no idea what they actually do. these two cities are so far apart from each other, sorry, google, it was the age of foolishness on your part, and the winter of despair for everyone who believed in the company. at least they have some new products coming to disguise the

bad odor of that call. then there is chipotle. an entirely different expectations problem. chipotle had done much to make people feel that things were slowing down, that the analysts should be cautious going forward. the problem is they didn't listen. the problem is chipotle always had a halo that made it seem immune to the economy. even management said it's not deserving of the halo because people do cut back on spending at chipotle in tough times, like the sodas. but now that the halo has been ripped off by a second disappointing quarter, chipotle feels like another company that has good consistent earnings like panera. the company performed extremely well, beat the numbers, but at the same time did see a slowing in the quarter, which is different, some would say radically different from the ceo just a few weeks ago when he said europe would be up, and i quote, low double digits. instead it was up just 3%. the stock shed 7 quick points.

i doubt the selling is over. and then the curious case of melanox technologies. the hottest stock in the world because of a device that helps with big data collection. it raised numbers to double, maybe even more. a really good quarter last week, certainly better than the estimates. you know what? the stock, which had been as high as $120 and went into the quarter 104 got pummeled down to 75 bucks. up 132% for the year. still, i don't think there is a number that would have satisfied that audience. and it remains unsatisfied, which wisconsin is why the stock dropped another buck 1. this is not how companies are missing on the top line. that's simplistic analysis. the expectations are simply too great for many companies to beat. the good news? expectations have come down. the bad news? it will last only 30% through

the earnings season. but plenty of other companies with earnings expectations too high and too hot to handle. so you can expect more selling. let's go to todd in north carolina. todd? >> jim, great big boo-yah in winston-salem. >> wake forest. >> the information coming out csx and peabody seems to conflict. jim, what is your take on the coal stocks? >> you must think that romney is going to have a 50-state sweep if you think coal is going to be good. i got to tell you, romney -- i was joking on "squawk on the street," just joking, that it's mitt peabody rom anymore. like mr. peabody. so you need a romney win in order to make that portfolio work. let's go to robert in florida, please. robert? >> caller: hey, jim. how do you think atk will perform as a result of this upcoming election? >> i happen to think that atk which is a bullet make erwins either way. in the end, i still think there will be an army that needs to

train for warfare, and don't forget, they got a huge billion contract. we've been behind that stock for some time. and we're sticking by it. i need to go to josh in wisconsin. josh? >> caller: hey, josh, big boo-yah to ya. >> what's going on? >> my question is about phillips international. they have missed two quarters in a row. is now the time to get in? >> no. i don't want to touch this yet. i felt that quarter wasn't good enough to merit a bottom. i thought -- research director, comanager of action alerts plus, we think the stock can come down more. how about waiting until 85? there is no hurry. there is no marlboro burning in your pocket. all right. great expectations? or do you have the best-seller called poor expectations? or if you really want a stock to fly you ought to check out rotten expectations. they all explain what is happening so far this earnings period. "mad money" will be right back with a real bedtime story. stay with cramer.

coming up, full speed ahead? not snow, not sleet, not even sand has stopped polaris industry's stock from its nonstop climb higher it is. ready to kick into a higher gear? cramer looks under its hood, with its ceo, just ahead. and later, sour cream? from chosen to troubled, shares of ship poet lay chipotle got grilled and another disappointing earnings report. but after nearly 45% melt from its highs, could it finally be time to feast on this battered burrito maker? or is the fire in their kitchen just too dangerous? cramer finds out in his exclusive with its cfo. plus, sale in aisle 4? the brands of b & g foods probably have a home in your pantry. but after a recent pullback, it the right time to make room in

your portfolio? don't miss cramer's exclusive with the ceo, all coming up on "mad money." >> don't miss a second of "mad money." follow @jimcramer on twitter. have a question? tweet cramer, #madtweets. send jim an e-mail to madmoney@cnbc.com. or give us a call at 1-800-743-cnbc. miss something? head to madmoney.cnbc.com. we got a real mom and the family car to do an experiment. we put a week of her family's smelly stuff all in at once to prove that febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. then we brought her family to see if it worked. tell me what you smell. something fresh. a beach. take your blindfolds off. oh! look at all this garbage! febreze car. eliminates odors for continuous freshness, so you can breathe happy.

have you tried this yet? save on febreze car and other innovative products with the october 28th p&g brandsaver. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. i was skeptical at first. but after awhile even my girlfriend noticed a difference.

[ male announcer ] rogaine is proven to help stop hair loss. and for 85% of guys, it regrew hair. save up to 42% now at rogaine.com. it regrew hair. new pink lemonade 5-hour energy? 5-hour energy supports the avon foundation for women breast cancer crusade. so i can get the energized feeling i need and support a great cause? i'm sold. pink lemonade 5-hour energy? yeah and a portion of every sale goes to the avon foundation for women breast cancer crusade. i'm sold. new pink lemonade 5-hour energy. get the alert, energized feeling you need and support breast cancer research and access to care.

do not be fooled. do not be fooled by all the hammering about the weakness of the american economy, the tapped out nature of all american consumers. if you want to get a real feel for the strength of the economy, and it is underlying in there, then few things are more important than discretionary spending, the stuff people buy not because they got, to but because they want to. and few companies are more discretionary than polaris industries, pii. snowmobiles, motorcycles, especially off-road vehicles, including both traditional all-terrain vehicles, as well aside by side vehicles that seat two people. some of these products are sold to military and some are sold to businesses. but mostly forget hasbro and mattel, because polaris makes some of the coolest toys imaginable. i think it's worth knowing that last thursday they reported an

absolutely blowout quarter. polaris delivered a 13 cent earnings beat off, company revenues came in higher than expected rising more than 20% year-over-year. they raise guidance handily for the full year. snowmobiles in particular up 21%. on-road vehicles which are mainly motorcycles up 78% year-over-year. and the way i see it, you don't sell that many snowmobiles and motorcycles unless the high-end consumer is doing okay. now polaris is building out its international business and in the last quarter asia-pacific and latin america posted solid double growth. the stock is giving a 32% return since they first recommended at the end of january, though they pulled back nicely today. so it could be giving us a solid entry point. let's first talk with scott wine, who was very bullish the last time he was on. what a good way to play it. he is the ceo of polaris. mr. wine, welcome back to "mad money."

>> jim, thanks for having me back on the show. >> i got to tell you, scott, you're a man of your word. you did blow the numbers away. you also talked about the conference call on november 6. you said the presidential debate, the presidents, the actual election is going to greatly affect your company. we have this debate tonight. fill me in on what the difference would be between the candidates. >> well, quite simply, jim, our company relies on a strong economy. and we've been very fortunate the last three years to deliver very strong top and bottom line growth in what has been a fairly meager economy here in the united states. as we see the global economy start to slow down, i was in europe a couple of weeks ago, and their look at the u.s. to continue to be strong. if we see a failure of washington to deal correctly with the fiscal cliff, it could be difficult for polaris to continue our strong performance. >> all right. let me go to the latter, because presidential. the president can come in.

he may not be able to affect the fiscal cliff because he needs the congress to work together. >> jim we deal with many regulatory bodies. we have great relationships whether it's nhtsa on the motorcycle side on the consumer safety commission. and we work those relationships hard. we just need to make sure as they're imposing regulations that they keep the balance between safety that we always put at the paramount for our consumers, but the economic impacts in the states where we operate in and the dealers where they sell. >> is that a republican/democrat issue? >> i think it can be. typically you see republicans favoring slightly less regulations, democrats slightly more. and i think both sometimes have the right approach. and we like to see them working together to deliver the best results for our industry. >> look, i've got to tell you. i have a feeling today, vf corp. said weakness in europe versus what they said. obviously a bunch of industrial

companies say not the right thing. why are people -- let me just put this. why are people buying your expensive stuff? >> you know, jim, i think there is a couple of very simple answers for it. innovation is probably the key. we spend about 4% of our revenues every year. we have an incredible pipeline of new products coming out. and i think this year we introduced, you know, 22 new vehicles that consumers really enjoy. and that's a good balance. our engineer, almost every one of them ride the products. so when we put out something new, it's just not what we think might work, it's what we have proven, the combination between the engine performance and the chassis performance that gives the rider the confidence, whether it's a work environment or the recreational environment. and it's that confidence. and you talked about passion earlier. the passion for our products across our consumer base is really unabated throughout the year, even if we have seen economies in parts of the world slow down. >> what is the technology in the ranger 900, the side by side, and what is the technology in the 2013 pro rmk sled that makes it so that you say i got to get one of those?

>> the pro rmk sled was just awarded the snow goer sled of the year for 2013. i had a chance to go out and ride it quite a bit last winter. and again, it performs on the top of a mountain as well as any sled, in fact, any sled that has ever been built. we have taken a lot of weight out. interestingly, for that customer, having the horsepower to weight ratio is key. and the way that our engineers dial the chassis in to let that consumer and that rider do exactly what they want to do on the mountain is really the key. and really, the same for the ranger 900. that's our tag line for the ranger product line is hardest working, smoothest riding. and we have taken that to a new level with the ranger 900. so for slightly under $13,000, you can get by far the best performing product in the industry. we give it more horsepower, but really improved what we call in vh, the noise vibration and handling. it's just much, much better for that product than anything else in the industry.

>> do people buy these on credit or do they actually have the cash to be able to buy a $13,000 vehicle? >> you know, our research says about two-thirds of the products are bought on credit. you know we have relationships with sheffield and general electric to help them finance it if they choose. to they also go to the local credit unions. and many have trade-ins as well. but there are about a third that do come in with cash. and, you know, we've seen credit come back very strong. we're as good as we were before the recession right now as far as approval rates are concerned. >> one last question. if the people didn't buy your vehicles, would they be using that money for an expensive vacation? would they be using that money for someone else's product that is not that good, sore this just discretionary money that people are hanging around that people are getting because things aren't as bad as we think? >> well, you know, i think it's a little bit of both, jim. most of the people that buy our products have found that it's the most applicable solution for what they want to do. whether it's a recreation -- our recreation customer, often this

is their vacation, or, you know, this is what they choose to do on the weekends as a family activity. on the work side, we quite frankly think we offer the best value for whatever might need to be done. it's better than a used pickup truck in some case. it's better than a tractor in other cases. you know, these are very specifically designed products to give consumers the ability to do what they need to do, whether it's a multiacre home, on a farm or on a trail. >> you a technology company. that's how i have to view you. you're a tech company. people don't see it like, that they're wrong. scott wine, ceo of polaris industries, great job. thank you so much. >> all right, thanks, jim. >> guys, look. there is two takeaways here. one is that polaris builds a better mousetrap. and the other is people can afford a better mousetrap. polaris industry, pii. it seems pretty good to me. stay with cramer. coming up, sour cream? from chosen to troubled, shares of chipotle got grilled after another disappointing earnings report.

and worries that taco bell might be stealing away customers. >> think taco bell can't do a gourmet burrito bowl? >> but after nearly 45% melt from its highs, could it finally be time to feast on this battered burrito maker? or is the fire in their kitchen just too dangerous? cramer finds out in his exclusive with its cfo. follow the wings.

i have a cold... i took dayquil, but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! with resolve deep clean powder. the moist powder removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone while neutralizing odors for a clean you can see, smell and really enjoy. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean.

how much lower can chipotle

go? last friday chipotle reported the second disappointing quarter in the row. the stock fell 42 points, losing 15% of value in a single session. chipotle is now down over 200 points. this is what when turbocharged growth stock lose their momentum. they fall and fall and fall until they ultimately find a floor which is much lower than where they started. they are plagued by a lsd hangover, no, not the drug. in the past chipotle would deliver consistent double-digit same sales numbers. but last quarter the numbers came in at 8%, and this quarter just 4.8, 4.8%, serious deceleration. meanwhile, there are worries that taco bell might be stealing some of chipotle's numbers. on the other hand, chipotle is a real company, real earnings. it's opening up new restaurants at a rapid clip, expanding the store base at about 12% a year. and while sales have slowed, they're about in line with panera's bread numbers, their numbers over the past decade. but chipotle has come down a lot

and is selling for just 22 times next year's earnings. at a certain point this stock is going to be growth based on future growth stocks even if diminished from what thought six months from now. so let's check in with jack hartung. he is chipotle chief financial officer, get a feeling of how his company is doing and where it is headed. even as i and my family remain steadfast eater, and can be swayed by taco bell, preferred cuisine when i lived in my car in 1978. mr. hartung, welcome back to "mad money." >> thanks, jim. great to be back. >> obviously stock has been hit. in the most recent conference call, you say point-blank, if the stock price remains under pressure we will buy a lot more. are you free to trade? are you taking advantage of this moment to buy back a lot of stock? >> yeah, jim, we're still in the middle of a $100 million buyback.

we're about $8 million into that. our board also approved another $100 million buyback as well. we've always been very opportunistic about buying back our stock. we're almost done over the last three or four years or so. the average price we bought or stock back was $117 million. we're very optimistic in this kind of market. >> when you were on the show last time you talked about how it looked like things had stabilized at the end of april and may, there was no deterioration. but it has deteriorated a little bit from the previous quarter. what makes you think this is a level to get aggressive, and why not just let the stock come in to where it may maybe overreacts to your news? >> we're not going to claim we're great at what predicting our stock will do. but we feel so bullish where long-term where we're heading? we have the opportunity to build thousands of restaurants in the u.s. the economics are the best in the restaurant industry. we expect to open up our restaurants, and within a few years generate returns of 60% or more on each and every new

restaurant. we've just begun in europe. we planted a few growth seeds there. those are off to a nice start. and we just opened up our first shop has been open for about a year. we're going to open up a second one in d.c. going to open up our first shop restaurant outside d.c. and los angeles. so we feel like our future is very, very bright. there are some short-term challenges for sure. but even with our comp, which is a disappointment for some or most in the third quarter at 4.8%, we think in this economy that's probably going to be among the leaders in terms of restaurant companies generating a comp. >> what do you think is the tie-in between the economic uncertainty that you reference in the conference call and the food itself? say $9, $9.50 for a lunch. we've got on the set the 5 taco bell and the $7 chipotle. they look rather identical. i know in the conference call you refute the idea that people are going to the competition. but at the same time, where are they going if they're not going to chipotle?

>> well, to be honest with you, they're still going to chipotle. our underlying comp transactions in the second quarter were 4. -- about 4.2%. in the third quarter they were about 4.3%. so underlying comp transactions are the same quarter to quarter. we had 330 basis points of additional pricing in the second quarter. that explains the entire difference between qe2 and qe3. even compared to qe1, we had things like weather and leap day and tougher comparisons. customers are still coming to chipotle really at about the same rate. but we're rolling off our pricing increase. so i can tell you, they're not coming from taco bell, though, or at least our customers are fog not going to taco bell. at least as far as we can tell. we don't see it in our trend lines. and every way we look at it we have even analyzed our restaurants, those are really close to taco bell to see if maybe those were impacted. and we're just not seeing it, jim. we think while taco bell is doing well with their recent promotions, they're not taking customers from chipotle. >> i just want to go over the notion of the difference between a competitor like taco bell.

and steve ells, co-ceo talks about how they don't have a grill. nor do they have knives or cutting boards? people see through that people understand the difference between one food that looks a lot like the either? >> i sure think so, jim. we're not going to talk what taco bell does or doesn't do. but when you go into chipotle, you can see the steak and the chicken being grilled right before you. you can see that we're chopping fresh cilantro. you can see we're making the rice. if you get there early enough in the morning before we open up, you can see we're making guacamole. they marinate the steak and the chicken themselves. and our kitchens are open. and so we don't hide anything from our customers. so it's very clear what we do at chipotle. and we let our customers decide. so far our customers are deciding that they want to stay with the meal that we provide them at chipotle. and i do think they understand the difference. >> jack, is there a level where people say you know what any really like food with integrity. i really like the good taste and

preparation. but in the end, i'm willing to trade down because my job is not paying me what i thought. i'm worried about my job. >> in fact, jim, we're seeing a little bit of an impact from the -- from the current economic situation ourselves. we're seeing this our customers are choosing to dine out a little bit more. and so they're buying their meal without the drink. we're also seeing that some of the group lunches that you might see like in a business meeting, for example, those are down just a little bit. so what we're seeing is customers are deciding to still come to chipotle. they're not cutting back on their visits, but they are finding ways to pull back a little bit about what they're spending. we think that's, you know, a positive thing for chipotle in that people still want their chipotle. they still want their meal. they'll forgo the soda. they'll forgo the drink. but they don't want to forgo the meal. we think that's a good sign for us. >> you have the money that you're using for bye back, but you have the shop house, the international opportunity. you said let's not lose the eye on the prize, that's regular chipotle. >> right. >> but if you took that money

and invested in more shop houses around the country and really tried that formula out, is that a better use of that? capital? >> what some companies do is they focus more on pace, and they're in a hurry. and they want to hurry up and add as many restaurants as possible. we focus on potential. we know we're going to increase our ultimate potential by focus on making sure we introduce the shop house brand in the right way. we also want to make sure we build the strength of the team, build their cooking techniques, build their knife skills, build their leadership skills such that when we open up restaurant number two, the manager in restaurant two is going to om from the crew of restaurant number one. same thing in l.a. well want to make sure that we build the brand in the right way, build the team in the right way. the easiest thing is to take the capital, we've got lots of capital. the easiest thing is to go out there, find sites and build them. that's what we're mostly focused

on right now. >> jack, there any geographic area that is not doing that well? i say that because my chipotle is as busy as ever. maybe people are forgoing the soda. but i detect absolutely no decline in the lines that i wait in. are there chipotles where you say literally, wow, what happened in that geography? >> to be honest, jim, every single chipotle is busy. our average volume now is over $2.1 million. but restaurants in the northeast, those are among our highest volume restaurants in the country. they also are among the highest comps in the country as well that shows us even with very, very high volume, we can have a very high comp. we think our potential is much greater than what we are doing today. i would say the west coast is a little softer and we know the unemployment is a little higher on the west coast as well. so we do think that the economy is having a slight impact out there. but really, across the country, every chipotle you're going to go into is going to feel busy. >> one last question. >> sure. >> do you think now that wall street itself is reset, you don't run the company for wall street, everyone knows that. >> right. >> you run the company to

provide food integrity for customers. do you think wall street is finally realistic? it's not like you didn't tell them point-blank, listen, it's slowing. this quarter you said it's slowing. >> certainly, jim, there was a lot of momentum in our stock early this year that drove our stock up to an all-time high beyond 440. and we certainly can't control, that and we certainly can't control the adjustment now to where our stock is trading today. but all along the way, we've heard over and over again people say they love chipotle. they love the appeal of food with integrity. they love the growth prospects, but they often say, but boy, the stock is just too expensive. so now we're at place where we haven't changed. we still have as bright a future we believe as we've ever had. our economics are the strongest they've ever been. some have said that this might be a little bit of a turnover in some of our investor base. if we can attract some long-term chipotle fans that think we have a bright future into our stock, i think that would be great for us. >> all right, terrific. thank you so much, jack hartung,

coming on, the ceo of chipotle mexican grill. great to see you, sir. >> thanks, jim. >> guys, look, it is a reset to me. you heard it. this is a difficult time in the country that it's affecting even places like chipotle. but i do believe at a certain point when they're in there buying and the customers are still coming, chipotle represents real value, especially that's it's equal to real change to stores of similar ilk. stay with cramer. years of our government employees insurance company, or geico...as most of you know it. ...i propose savings for everyone! i'm talking hundreds here... and furthermore.. newcaster: breaking news. the gecko is demanding free pudding. and political parties that are actual parties! with cake! and presents! ah, that was good. too bad nobody could hear me. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

but lately she's been coming in with less gray than usual. what's she up to? [ female announcer ] root touch-up by nice'n easy has the most shade choices, designed to match even salon color in just 10 minutes. with root touch-up, all they see is you. throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has more of 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+.

to relieve their sore throats. oh, okay, you don't need to do that. but i don't want any more of the usual lozenges and i want new cooling relief! ugh. how do you feel? now i'm cold. hmm. this is a better choice. new cepacol sensations cools instantly, and has an active ingredient that stays with you long after the lozenge is gone. ahhh. not just a sensation, sensational relief.

what would warren do? it is time! it's time for the "lightning round." buy, buy, buy, sell, sell, sell! [ buzzer ] and then the "lightning round" is over. are you ready zee skee daddy? start with tom in new york. tom? >> caller: hi, jim. jim, with "twilight" coming november 16, my stock is lionsgate. >> i think it continues to creep up over time. it will get there eventually. matt in texas? >> caller: what do you think of united health? >> insurance is good. the growth in the economy is real. let's go to kevin in new york. kevin? >> caller: boo-yah, jim, sticker ttsh? >> man, that's too hard for me. i'm going to take a pass on that one because those guys have been hit or misses. i need you in accenture. >> caller: jim, how are you? >> good. how you? >> caller: good. my stock is aet.

>> buy, buy, buy slams. >> stephanie link and i were kicking ourselves. why didn't we buy aetna? why didn't we buy aetna for the trust in let's go to janice in pennsylvania. >> caller: boo-yah, jim. hartford financial? >> goes higher. >> buy, buy, buy! >> i know becky had a big interview. i want to see that interview. john in virginia, john? >> caller: i got crm, november 145 calls. >> wow, you know what? keep them. keep them. you're playing that bounce, playing that bounce. carol in florida. carol? carol? >> caller: hello? >> hey, how are you? >> caller: i just want you to know -- >> no, no, it's chris berman. >> sell, sell, sell! >> dell, no. they don't have it. they're on the populist. bring the cart. and that, ladies and gentlemen, the conclusion of the "lightning round"! >> the "lightning round" is sponsored by td ameritrade.

coming up, sale in aisle 4? the brands of b and g foods probably have a room in your portfolio. don't miss cramer's exclusive with the ceo. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! [ male announcer ] try new alka-seltzer plus severe allergy to treat allergy symptoms plus sinus congestion and pain.

as we slide through an earnings season, i consider it my job to highlight well-run companies that are posting excellent results. that's why tonight i want to bring your attention to b & g foods, bgs, a package food company with a bountiful 4% yield. those who have watched the show for a long time know i've been a fan of b & g pretty much for ever.

cream of wheat, vermont maple sir rim, b & n beans, pickles, and regina, because that is named after my executive producer, but i can't help but point it out. this is a company with a tried and true business model. it buys tired, neglected brands and breathes new life into them. we've seen b & g do this year, most recently buying mrs. dash from unilever about a year ago, and last quarter two brands including these panitini, oven-baked, i had these every morning before i went to work. i was shocked when i saw them buy it. it is one of my favs. and these, loved by my late mom louise and aunt nana before her. couldn't believe it. b & g just reported a solid quarter last thursday. but the most important thing i heard on the conference call is they expect to see a bunch of

terrific acquisition opportunities coming down the pike real soon, in part because of the larger food players are starting to divest some of the weaker brands. after what i heard on the conference call, i'm thinking there could be more upside ahead. don't forget we did a secondary that i thought was good. the stocks come off a little. i thought that may be an opportunity. that's why i'm thrilled that david wenner, the president and ceo of b & g foods is here to talk about the next quarter. welcome back to "mad money." thank you so much for coming in. have a seat. now, i was shocked to hear that you actually owned this brand. at one point you got rid of it, and ten years later you're bringing it back. why? >> well, when we owned it, it was just new york-style. old london was not part of it. >> okay. >> and we were very interested in old london, but there was a dinosaur of a manufacturing plant that we had to get rid of. we didn't have the resources or anything to consolidate this business. in the intervening ten years, that's been done. so the business is fixed

compared to how we looked at it about ten years ago from a manufacturing point of view. the real opportunity, we understand the part of the deli snack part of the business, we think, from having owned it. but the opportunity is much larger than it was back then. >> why? what has changed? >> emphasis, snacks have come in there. but if you look at the business ten years ago versus now the perimeter of the store is much more of a focus for retailers. >> right. >> so following that trend, the snacks sold in that perimeter have grown tremendously. back ten years ago, we were the largest component of the deli snack bars business with new york style and burns and ricker back then. now this is about a tenth of the business that is out there right now. so we see a very large opportunity in that part of the business. the manufacturing is fixed. we like the business. >> all right. now i was at my kin's last night. i constantly buy this stuff.

jj flats, the melba toast, they're all next to each other. they have a very big section in my supermarket, which is an upscale supermarket. but what occurred to me is all these can sit, they can be in stores for a long time. >> uh-huh. >> these, perishable. it's different. >> but these are long shelf-life products. these are a year or so shelf-life. they're not the dsd, you got to change it every three days for bread, you have to change it every week or two for potato chips. these are a year or more shelf life on a lot of these snacks. >> so in other words, you don't have to start bringing trucks? >> no, no, no. we would never get into that kind of distribution. but this '70s your grocery shelf and has a long grocery life. that's in the deli. much more free-form, but a lot of opportunity. >> we talked to chipotle earlier. they're talking about pretty bad food inflation. you talked about the opposite on your call. >> well, to the extent you're in protein, i think you're facing a lot of inflation. we're not in protein, except for underwood devilled hams. we don't have a lot of control over the costs, there but we're actually taking advantage of the slump in ham prices to run up a lot of inventory in anticipation

of inflation next year. but it's not a big component of our cost in any event. >> now, you talked several times on this call about new acquisitions. you made it very clear you're not going to discuss anything. obviously that would be dumb to do, because then you would be bidding up the price. but you got a $1.4 billion company. is it time? is it time to really do a 500 to $700 million deal, or should you just continue to buy these little guys? >> we've never been against doing that size of deal. >> really? >> well, it economical. >> okay. >> does it create value for the shareholders. we've looked at large deals in the past. what we find typically happens is a big guy comes along and pays a big multiple for the large properties. >> right. >> that's not what we're about. it doesn't give us the right cash flow solutions. so we have looked at things and passed in the past. >> once again you did the deal. cleans up the balance sheet instantly so you're ready for the next deal. >> right. >> as you said in the call, you're not an organic grower. >> well, i don't think you can

be in the dry grocery business and sit there and say i'm going to grow 10% a year organic growth. that's not what it. kraft foods group has been spun off because that's not what that business. but these businesses crank cash like you can't believe. and at the end of the day, what is wrong with generating a huge amount of cash? >> nothing. which is why i'm recommending your stock and continuing to do. so it's been one of the best winners ever since we started the show, and it's a great opportunity to buy it right now. that's dave wenner, president and ceo of b & g foods. guys, you can worry about stocks going up 15, 20%. how about a nice steady climber? sometimes it comes in. it's coming in now. buy it. stay with cramer. 5-hour energy supports the avon foundation for women breast cancer crusade. so i can get the energized feeling i need and support a great cause? i'm sold. pink lemonade 5-hour energy? yeah and a portion of every sale goes to the avon

foundation for women breast cancer crusade. i'm sold. new pink lemonade 5-hour energy. get the alert, energized feeling you need and support breast cancer research and access to care. with resolve deep clean powder. the moist powder removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone while neutralizing odors for a clean you can see, smell and really enjoy. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. and one wedding, 2 kids, 43 bottles of olay total effects many birthdays later, still looks amazing. thanks to the trusted performance of olay. to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength

to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. just two pills for all day pain relief. try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief.

taking control of your financial destiny is smart, but why would you go it alone? let cramer be your guide. your sounding board. >> i'm having a hard time with my favorite stock. >> i know you can beat these professionals. >> and your coach on the road to financial independence. "mad money," week nights on cnbc. i talk a lot about the fiscal cliff here on this network, and we should, because on conference call after conference call we're hearing ceos say the uncertainty over the budget in washington is indeed casting a pall over their own businesses. it would be horrific for earnings if we plunge over the fiscal cliff. nevertheless, there is another cliff revealed during this quarter, and it's one that should have been anticipated, even though it hasn't been. let's call it the earnings cliff. right now many companies are seeing the slowdown in europe and china firsthand. others are seeing some weakness in the united states, although by all means the u.s. is the strong nest the trio. here is the thing. well can put a bridge over the

abyss. right now one of the reasons the united states is holding soup well is the federal reserve is making cheap money available to those who want to buy a house or a car. that doesn't mean that anybody who wants to, can get a loan. the banks are still running scared. the paperwork to get loans is stunning, mind-boggling. it's almost as if the banks don't want to make loans and are hiding behind the paperwork as a way to do so. europe, the governments over there -- [ buzzer ] -- not in a bridge-building mode [ booing ] policies that widen the cliffs, inflicting vicious austerity plans that are stunting growth and hurting earnings. you're seeing in our tech companies which have made europe a key part of their growth strategies. that turned out to be a terrible bet. even after this huge decline, cannot be owned. then there is china. china is the battleground right now. we have some companies calling the bottom in china right here, saying the government is

bridging the earnings cliff by pumping money directly into the economy and to starting infrastructure products that bring the water and sewer plants up to snuff, many which haven't been updated since sun yat-sen. we heard this view from alcoa the other day saying the chinese government recognizes its too harsh on the economy and is now full blast. joy global recently told us that china has bottomed already. joy global ought to know. china is the biggest growth market for that company's huge machines. the bridge over the earnings cliff is a principle reason why many industrials rallied today that and a healthy turn in many commodities like iron work may have bottomed just a few weeks ago, and the baltic freight rates which stopped going down last week because of chinese import traffic. if you're selling stocks, i think you have to be mindful of which cliff you fear, if it's europe, there is nothing good over there. china, frankly, i grow more and more optimistic each day. and that day was no different.

especially given the humongous rally we've been witnessing in chinese stocks since the bottom not that long ago. stay with cramer. keep up with twitter all day long. follow on twitter and tweet your questions at #madtweets. [ male announcer ] this is mike.

mike's being healthy and chewing like a man. introducing one-a-day vitacraves for men! it's a gummy multivitamin... with more vitamin b, to convert food to energy, and help mike do manly things, like wrestle bears and take out the garbage. new one-a-day vitacraves for men.

i just want the take a moment out to say that our thoughts are with the family of mike farrell, one of our heroes, the man who built annaly hospital management who died this weekend at the age of 61. farrell is one of the good guys. he flagged the mortgage debacle long before everyone else saw it coming. he warned correctly what would occur if wall street was allowed to run amok with mortgage financial engineering. and he made billions of dollars for his shareholders. what you might know is farrell was one of the most charitable people on earth.